


sweet boy

by orphan_account



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Cute, Daddy Kink, M/M, ddlb, maybe smut ;), most of all FLUFF, soft, uwu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-06-11 03:08:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 20,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15306114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: dd/lb relationship. soonyoung meets minghao. lil story of cute boys in love. angst & fluff. soon is very gentle with hao. hao is lonely and desperately needs soon. they love each other so much. LAPS LOCK ! slow build to minghao's regression.





	1. meeting

**Author's Note:**

> don't mind me just transferring my work over here from wa**pad. just trying to get more people to see that soonhao is in fact adorable. also pls note that this is super cringy and not well planned out. sorry like i actually hate that i wrote this but what am i gonna do about it now :/ also!! some people ask what being a little is and its basically slipping into a headspace of when you were younger and had less worries in the world. so in this fic, minghao and chan are both littles who have care givers (jeonghan and soonyoung) and kind of depend on them to take care of them when they are in this child like head space. chan is definitely more in touch with his little side but minghao is not. we see more of what minghao is like in big space. minghao will slowly start to open up to soonyoung in his little space tho :) soon i promise ! hope this kind of made sense, if not, many websites describe it far better than me.

minghao scrolled through his notifications. he just got out of class and was feeling small. like smaller than heck. nothing made him regress more than the stress college classes put on him. he never strived to be the best, or be the class pet, he just wanted to be good enough to the point where he made average grades and got a call from his parents telling him they are proud because he didn't turn out like his older brother. which is another story.

minghao laid in bed in his favorite big sweater. it was periwinkle, his favorite color, and the sleeves swallowed his hands whole. the tips of his fingers peeking out of his sweater as they scrolled down the screen. a small smile reached his face seeing his followers comment so many nice things on his instagram posts. he had a private intagram where he uploaded photos of the real him. the little boy him.

he would color drawings and snuggle with his giant bear named gogo. he loved sharing this side of him with people who understood. everyone online was so accepting and nice, often leaving comments on his pictures like "so cute!" and "good job hao!". the acceptance felt good, he felt so confident sometimes he would show up to classes wearing his big pink sweaters and carry around his hello kitty lunch box. this obviously drew stares, but no one would say anything to the small boy.

the last photo he uploaded was a selfie of him in a pink tshirt and white thigh highs. big round glasses sat on the tip of his button nose and pink dusted his cheeks. his hair laid flat on his forehead and he held out a peace sign. many of the comments were from his mutuals who were also littles. his closest mutual was a boy named chan who had a daddy named jeonghan and their photos were the cutest. minghao often found himself stalking chan's feed several times a day and wishing he had something like the cute couple. he huffed.

he dug deeper into his comments deciding he needed a pick me up. one comment stood out to him.

kwonsy: how can such a small face hold such big glasses! xD

minghao liked it and replied:

mingbby: maybe the glasses are made for giants!


	2. chan from busan

after a long nap, minghao woke up to a million notifications- the usual.

he woke up feeling big today, so he shed his frail body of his pink sweater and decided to go for black instead. it was so easy to tell when minghao was big or little, his outfit choices were on two different sides of the spectrum. dark tee's and plaid flannels for big, pastel sweaters and thigh high socks for little. he hadn't even noticed he did that until chan pointed it out at school once.

he decided to check the nice messages his dedicated followers left until he spotted the red bubble in the corner. a dm was sent from the man yesterday. kwonsy. the boys fingers fumbled nervously across the screen, forgetting his awkward first encounter with the nice man.

kwonsy: hello :)

minghao's brain turned inside out. hello? what do i even say to that? what's up? no that's so unoriginal. god damn it what do i say?

mingbby: :) how r u?

the tall boy collapsed on his bed with a loud sigh. "why do i do this to myself? really."

his phone vibrates in his hand and he picks it up faster than the speed of lightening.

incoming call from channie

he sighs and answers with a swipe.

hao!

why are you squealing?

hao, i'm taking the bus to your apartment in approximately 4 minutes.

wait what-

SURPRISE!

channie, seoul is kinda far from busan don't you think? what does jeonghan think about this?

pfft. i totally got him to say yes! i won't say how, but i can be very persuasive.

oh god, chan don't talk like like that.

c'mon aren't you excited to see me?!

of course, you're my best friend it's just-

what?

....

are you breaking up with me?!

will you stop being so dramatic?

gosh hao, i never thought you could be this cold. not gonna lie, i'm wounded.

channie, that's not it all. it's just last time you came to stay with me you went into little space and i couldn't take care of you and then i had a mental breakdown and had to call jeonghan to come and pick you up. and whilst waiting for him, i had to go out and buy you a pacifier and you wouldn't stop crying. do you know how scary that is?

but minghao- i already got on the bus. and jeonghan said it was okay! and i even brought my own pacifier! i'm all prepared okay?

chan. just- make sure you know what you are doing.

of course i know! look, i even wrote down instructions, well, jeonghan did. but anyway, there are instructions on what to do if it happens! and hey, maybe i won't even go into little space.

are you sure jeonghan is okay with it?

of course! he knows we are best friends. he knows how much you mean to me.

don't get all sentimental with me.

just stop thinking so hard will you? i'll be there in like 3 hours. maybe.

yea yea okay.

minghao ended the call before his smaller and littler friend could yell at him more. and now, he has to clean up his apartment and move all his little stuff away in case chan sees and becomes little. he can't have that happening again- hell no.

before getting the vacuum from the closet his phone vibrated again. thinking it was chan again, he ignored it. he put on headphones and began to clean his living room carpet.

after vacuuming, sweeping, and disinfecting the house he felt content. the beads of sweat on his forehead being wiped away with his sleeve. he checks his phone to see the time and sees messages from a certain someone that he yet again forgot about.

"oh shit." he grabbed his phone off the table and read through.

kwonsy: i'm doing great thanks. and you?  
kwonsy: have you eaten?

minghao's brain stutters. uh. how am i doing? have i eaten today? i actually don't know.

mingbby: i'm stressed actually. my friend is coming from busan to stay with me and to be honest i can't remember if i have eaten or not.  
mingbby: other than that, i'm fine.


	3. i came through your window

minghao waits for chan to arrive for a good two hours before giving up and falling asleep on the couch. the boy never arrives on time for anything.

 

amidst his blissful nap, he is woken by soft giggles. the tall boy groans and scrunched his nose. his eyes slowly open to see a black figure on his sofa giggling at something on his phone. minghao shoots up and puts his arms out in an attempt to scare away said giggling person.

 

"jesus fucking christ minghao!" a voice yells.

 

minghao grabs his blanket and wraps it around his shoulders.

 

"channie..?"

 

"no shit!" the figure shines the phone light on his face and reveals that it is in fact minghao's tiny man child friend, Chan.

 

"how did you even get in here you sneaky brat?" minghao grabs his phone from the littler one's hands.

 

"your window was open and i was knocking for ages. i even screamed your name a few times but then some old man came out of his house and started yelling at me. so here i am."

 

"glad to know you broke into my house at this hour. now i really have to get locks on my windows." minghao shivered.

 

"anyway since we're over the whole "when did you get here" thing, who is this mysterious guy who keeps texting you?" the blonde scoots closer with a mischievous smile.

 

"is that what you were giggling at? ugh, you're such a child." minghao flicks him in the forehead.

 

"well i can't deny that. and ow!" he flicks minghao in the arm but it just feels like a soft poke.

 

minghao looks at his screen.

 

kwonsy: Busan? funny, i live there!

kwonsy: you live close?

kwonsy: not to be weird... i swear i am not being weird.

kwonsy: and now i'm text bombing you

kwonsy: i'm such an idiot

 

minghao reads the messages from the anxious man and giggles.

 

"wow, i thought i was the more awkward one." chan puts his hand on minghao's shoulder.

 

"shockingly you aren't for once in your life! that's a real step up hao!" the tall boy raises his hand in attempt to hit the smaller boy and mumbles curse words.

 

"respect your hyung you brat." chan cowers away laughing. "don't call me a brat. that's what jeonghan calls me when i'm sucking his di-" minghao screams before he can finish his sentence. "really chan?! really?! can i have five seconds without you informing me about your very active sex life?" minghao whines. "you're so gross." chan shoots finger guns at the taller boy. "you know it!"

 

looking back to his phone screen a siren goes off in his head.

 

"wait a minute. holy shIT!" the smaller boy looks up from where he is rooting through minghao's kitchen, "what?"

 

"he lives in busan! you know what tHIS MEANS CHAN? IT MEANS HE IS LIKE THREE HOURS AWAY!"

 

"yea... so?"

 

minghao shakes his head and looks up at the ceiling rolling his eyes.

 

"jesus- it means if i could, i can go see him!"

 

"woah. lets not get too ahead of ourselves shall we?" the blonde says whilst taking a carton of ice cream from the freezer. "he could very well be a pedophile. or a murderer. or worse- a pedophile murderer." he says calmly shoving ice cream in his mouth.

 

minghao stares at him dumbfounded. "yea sure that's possible but, if you were me you would have taken the bus to busan in a heart beat. you'd probably be sucking him off right now." minghao scoffed.

 

chan looks up- very offended. "the only person i'm sucking off is jeonghan thank you very much. meanie." he goes back to picking at the frozen solid ice cream. "at least you're loyal." minghao shrugs.

 

mingbby: not necessarily close.. i live in seoul.

mingbby: also you're not an idiot. at least not a complete one :)

 

minghao nods at his phone seeming to be satisfied with his calm replies to the very handsome man.

 

"how are you and jeonghan anyway? feel like i haven't seen him in ages." hao puts his feet up on the coffee table and slouches into the soft cushions of his couch. his blonde small friend has a smile spread across his face in seconds, just hearing the name.

 

"he's amazing. like i kinda can't imagine what i would do with out him. he's my rock you know? the most perfect daddy a little could ever have." the boy pouted around his too big spoon, "i miss him."

 

minghao almost coo'ed at the heart felt words but then remembered how helplessly lonely he was, helplessly daddyless he was. the taller also pouted.

 

"that's nice. but can't relate."

 

the younger frowned a bit. "don't worry hao-ah, i'm sure someone out there is willing to put up with your needy ass." minghao threw a pillow at his head, which then resulted in the ice cream falling on the floor and a pillow in his face.

 

"chAN! what the hell i just cleaned!"

 

"think twice before you assault me again you tree."

 

minghao cleaned the floor as chan watched some reality show until 5 am rolled around and the two realized how exhausted they were. although minghao told chan very clearly that his bed was on the couch, he still ended up having the boy wrapped around him in his bed. he wasn't complaining though- he was actually quite warm.


	4. Pancake Mix

minghao lay spread out on his bed. the lavender sheets wrapped around him like a tornado occurred in his sleep. a tiny amount of drool was on the pillow under him. in his arms was gogo, his trusty plushie. he may not be little all the time, but he definitely got used to hugging the plush to sleep every night.

 

loud banging was heard from the kitchen. as if on cue minghao rose from his sleepy state. he stretched his limbs out with a yawn and sat at the edge of the too big bed. he thought of all the dumb things chan could have done while he was sleeping and whined at the thought of having to clean up after his messy, irresponsible friend. he sat for a few seconds more asking himself why the hell he agreed to have chan over in the first place. well, i didn't technically agree to anything. he decided for himself that he was coming over. pfft, freeloader.

 

he got up from the bed somewhat distorted but managed to pull a hoodie over his head. the taller zombie walked to the kitchen to inspect said lousy noise.

 

"jeonghan! can you stop fooling around and tell me how to make pancakes properly? i didn't ask to be harassed over facetime." minghao looked around the corner to see chan in an apron with several baking ingredients surrounding a giant bowl and whisk.

 

"okay okay," jeonghan chuckled. "you know all you need is pancake mix and water right hun?" his small friend threw himself to the ground dramatically with a groan. "stop being so dramatic you'll wake up minghao. you know he can be a grumpy puss when he's waken up." the older man scoffed.

 

"i'll have you know i am happy as a clam in the morning." minghao stated loudly while walking into the kitchen.

 

chan rose from the floor. "morning hao!" minghao nodded and smiled. "morning channie" he looked into the iphone camera, "hi jeonghan."

 

"hi hao. say uh, how much did you hear?"

 

"i know you were talking shit hyung. i heard you loud and clear." minghao grabbed the lucky charms off the counter and plopped down on a bean bag. he shoved the dry cereal in his mouth and watched chan put away and the ingredient he didn't need.

 

"we weren't talking shit. right my love?" the littlest one blushed. "we honestly weren't hao. we just know you can be a little grumpy in the morning." he smiled painfully sweetly and made minghao choke on his dry cereal.

 

"i'm making pancakes don't eat that junk." chan pointed at minghao with the whisk.

 

"junk? you're making pancakes with pancake mix. y'all don't even know what's in there." minghao picked out the marshmallows. "i'm trying to get lucky this morning."

 

the phone laughed loudly. "you can eat that all you want and you still aren't going to get lucky anytime soon." minghao stomped over to the phone.

 

"sorry, what was that? we must have a bad connection. bye!" he pressed the end call button.

 

"hey! that's my boyfriend!" chan whined, pouring the mix into the bowl.

 

"he's a sucky boyfriend."

 

••

 

_kwonsy: you live in seoul? hmm that's not far._

_kwonsy: say.. aren't you supposed to respect your elders?_

_minghao quickly typed a response._

_mingbby: elder? i don't see any here._

_kwonsy: haha. i'm 110% sure i'm older than you >:)_

_mingbaby: what year are you??_

_kwonsy: 96 my friend. wby?_

_mingbaby: okay... ur right... jerk_

_kwonsy: mwaHAHAHHA !_

_kwonsy: wait so what year r u?_

_mingbby: 97 ;)_

_kwonsy: so close yet so far away_

_mingbby: speaking of that.. would you be interested in meeting me? in person?_

_kwonsy: uh let me think uh yEs_

_mingbby: rlly? you're not worried i'm carfishing u or somth?_

_kwonsy: no not at all. i've been following you for awhile i know ur the real deal :)_

_mingbby: how long have you been following me? :o_

_kwonsy: idk... a year or two.._

_mingbby: noted_

_kwonsy: what- why-_

_mingbby: so when?_

_kwonsy: next week? maybe thursday? i'm free i think in the evening._

_mingbby: thursday in the evening. okay where?_

_kwonsy: i'll pick you up at the bus station is that okay ?_

_mingbby: perfect_

_kwonsy: then it's a date :)_


	5. flipping off the camera

minghao walks into the bathroom hurriedly. he fixes his hair in the mirror debating to go to the right or left side with his hair. ah fuck it. i'll just leave it down. he straightens out his cream sweater and adjusts the black belt around his waist. he was especially excited to wear his skinniest pair of jeans.

 

"hey are you almost re- wow you look hot." chan stops in the doorway to inspect the taller.

 

"why don't you ever dress like this - like ever?"

 

"do you really think i look good? i don't want him to think i'm ugly in person and cute in my pictures." minghao looks to his small friend with worry in his eyes.

 

"hey hao. calm down okay? you seriously, genuinely, look very good. like, if we weren't best friends i might have tapped it." 

 

minghao slaps chan in the back of the head. "don't ever talk like that to me you perv." chan laughs and backs away with his hands up in surrender. "hey! i said might have. open your ears grandpa."

 

minghao was ready to throw a punch but his phone vibrated on the bathroom counter. both the boys gasped and looked down excitedly.

 

kwonsy: hey minghao! can't wait to see you in a few hours! hope your morning is going well.

 

"oh my god." minghao releases the breathe he held in and picked up his phone reading the message again. "oh my gOD." the small boy to his right smirks.

 

"man, you're whipped already. send me a wedding invite will ya?" he attempts to walk away until minghao grabs the back of his shirt forcefully bringing him back.

 

"gOD. WHAT?"

 

"chan. i'm not ready. i'm not ready at all. this- this is- wow." the taller stuttered over his words and slipped his phone into his pocket.

 

"what? so after a week of non stop texting you're just going to chicken out? nuh-uh. not on my watch sweetie. you text him back telling him you are just as excited about tonight okay? you get on that bus and you ride it to busan without any second thoughts and you see the man with the nice brown eyes okay?"  chan heaves after his lecture. "please. never make me have to lecture you again, that takes too much work."

 

"channie, what if he's cat fishing me? what if he's married with kids? what if-"

 

"shut the hell up and go to the bus station. the bus leaves in 20 minutes."

 

•••

 

with shaky hands, minghao arrived to one of the many seoul bus stations. his sweaty hands gripped onto his boarding pass and watched as the people boarded the bus with dull expressions.

 

at least i'm not visiting family in busan. poor fellow bus riders.

 

he took his seat alone in the front. he felt if he needed to abort mission he could run off the bus easily. this is good. this is my way out. i can get off anytime.

 

the drive to busan started off with several texts from chan asking minghao to send picture proof he was still on the bus and didn't chicken out. so far he sent about 4 pictures of himself flipping off the camera.

 

between babies crying and the emo teens in front of him playing loud, obnoxious music- minghao manages to get in a quick nap. but of course, all good things come to an end- most of the time. he's jerked awake by the sudden stop the bus has made at the Busan station. some people around him mumble curses at the abrupt stop- and minghao would be one of those people if he wasn't internally freaking out.

 

this is it. this is the place. shit.

 

he stretches while waiting for everyone to pile off the bus. although he was sitting in the front he had everyone exit the bus before him because he needed to call chan real quick before he meets sir kwonsy.

 

"chan. channie. chan-"

 

"so you made it?"

 

"yea i just got here and i'm still on the bus."

 

"what are you waiting for? go get some ass."

 

"chAn."

 

he hears chan sigh on the other line.

 

"just- be yourself okay? it's not like you have anything to hide because he already knows about the other side of you. the smaller side of you. just take it slow and give him a chance."

 

"for once, you actually sound so mature."

 

"i get from jeonghan."

 

"yea yea yea. okay so. i guess i'll get off the bus now."

 

"that's the spirit!"

 

"no. i'm literally being forced off the bus by the bus driver."

 

"oh. well at least i  an count on someone to do my job for me."

 

minghao steps off the bus- or is shoved off the bus and stares frantically at the big sign reading "welcome to busan". he clears his throats and shakily makes his way inside where he assumes he will be meeting the man of the hour- kwonsy.

 

"okay, i'm going inside. please say a prayer." he walks in to a large building with bright lights and people walking around like hundreds of ants on a piece of candy.

 

"did he text you?" chan wakes him up from his state of shock.

 

"h-huh? oh shit i didn't even check! i'll call you later with an update." he cancels the call without waiting for a reply because he knows he will just be scolded again. he looks to see that kwonsy has in fact texted minghao twice.

 

kwonsy: are you here yet?

kwonsy: i'm waiting outside :)

 

minghao squeaks with worry but also excitement. he whips his head around and walks back out the doors he entered. he wanders the sidewalk for a bit looking for a man that matched the photos he saw a few days ago.

 

mingbby: i'm here. i'm outside looking for you.

mingbby: i ran into a trash can and a kid laughed. pls help i'm lost.

 

minghao scurries away from the rude child who laughed and spots a man wearing a mustard colored shirt and jeans walking towards him. from where he was standing, the man looked young with his black hair in his eyes.

 

is this... him?

 

minghao takes little steps towards the man and hears a text message bell from his phone. checking it quickly he reads-

 

kwonsy: found you!


	6. you play games?

kwonsy: i found you!

minghao looked up from his phone to see the man in the mustard colored shirt standing right in front of him. his eyes looking warm as he smiled at the younger. minghao slipped his phone in his back pocket and cleared his throat.

"uh- are you...?" minghao wiped his clammy hands on his jeans hoping the slightly shorter man won't notice.

the man chuckled and stuck out his hand awaiting a handshake. "yes, i'm kwon soonyoung. minghao right?" minghao shook soonyoung's hand curtly. "i'm xu minghao- hi." 

they pull their hands away and the shorter smiles. "ready for our date?" he starts walking through a crowd of people and minghao follows after a couple of seconds. "u-uh yea." it's easy to follow soonyoung due to his bright colored shirt amongst a sea of black.

"where are we going?" minghao asks once they get to the older's car. he has to admit it is a pretty fancy, little car. soonyoung looks over the car at minghao on the passenger side. "get in and find out."

the pair climb inside- well mainly minghao. he's so tall and lanky he almost struggles getting in the tiny sports car. soonyoung notices his struggle and stifles a chuckle. "watch your head. sorry about that, i didn't think you were going to be so tall." minghao manages to sit comfortably against the leather seats and closes the door. "oh- don't worry about it. it actually happens more than you think." 

soonyoung pushes the power button and they set off to their "date." music plays quietly in the car- a catchy beat that minghao knows very well. "you like seventeen?" he tries to start an interesting conversation. 

"what? oh, yea i do actually. they have super catchy songs. i have like every album." he embarrassedly looks at minghao who fanboys in return. "no way! i literally have all their albums too. what's your favorite song?" 

"mm, probably "who". it may sound demonic at first but once the beat drops i can't help but dance to it." he keeps his eyes on the road trying not to fanboy along with minghao. "i know right? have you seen the choreo for it? wow." minghao excitedly talks about the group for a few minutes trying not to annoy soonyoung but he's never met another carat in person- especially a boy. 

"my favorite song is "my i". and my favorite member is- well. i actually can't choose between mingyu and jun." he laughs at his own fanboying and feels a vibrate from his pocket. before checking his phone he peeks at the man driving who is actually smiling. minghao thinks for a quick second he resembles a hamster. 

"if i knew you were so into seventeen i would have dm'ed you quicker. my favorite memeber is woozi, he's small and cute. also an amazing song writer. that group is just full of talent." he sighs to himself. 

minghao laughs while checking his messages. "i feel you on a personal level." he reads the messages from chan.

channie: how is he? is he the hot guy from the pics ?  
channie: is he armed with weapons   
channie: make sure you remember to kick him in the nuts if he attacks :)

me: he is shockingly not loaded with weapons.  
me: he's super nice actually and the best part is- he iS A CARAT  
me: HE LIKES SEVENTEEN AND HE SAID HE LIKES WOOZI THE BEST !! i need a ring for this man i'm about to get on one knee and propose.

minghao looks up from his phone to see that they were pulling into an arcade. kids ran inside happily with their mothers following them yelling "don't run in the parking lot!" minghao looks over at the hamster looking guy.

"you like to play games?"


	7. seat belt troubles

"you like to play games?" soonyoung looks hopeful at the younger boy in the passenger seat. minghao fumbles with his seat buckle and stutters out "y-yea i think." 

the older laughs at minghao's belt troubles and leans over to help him. "sorry, they do this sometimes. i guess she just doesn't want you to leave." he chuckles lowly. minghao lets go of his belt and lets soonyoung take over. 

"your car is a she?" he looks up at soonyoung hovered over him and the man smiles his hamster smile. "she may not look it, but alexandra is more of a tom boy than your regular girly girl. she likes basketball and drinks red bull. she is a cool gal." he manages to tell minghao all of this while pulling harshly on the belt stuck in the holder. 

minghao doesn't even care that he's strapped inside soonyoung's car. there are worst things that could happen. he giggles under the man working hard at freeing the boy. "you even have a whole backstory for your car? and how did you even come up with the name alexandra?" soonyoung tries to hide his embarrassment, "listen here, mingh-" the last tug at the belt sends it flying right into minghao's face. the boy squeals in surprise and grabs his nose in pain. 

"oh my god. oh my god. oh my god. i-i'm so sorry minghao! are you okay? did i hit your nose? oh my god i'm so sorry!" soonyoung places a hand on minghao's which is hiding his nose. minghao lets out a whine. god damn it that hurt. 

"move your hand so i can see it." minghao opens his eyes to see soonyoung with a worried look and slowly takes his hands away from his nose. 

"i-is it bleeding?" 

soonyoung lightly touches the bridge of the youngers nose. "no it's not." minghao winces at the contact. soonyoung retracts his finger and pouts his lips in worry. "you need ice- ugh i'm so stupid i'm sorry minghao." the older backs away from the younger feeling as though he ruined a date that didn't even get a chance to start yet. minghao lightly smiles.

"hey, it's okay. really. i'm- okay." minghao feels his nose bruising an ugly purple as he talks. "we can still go in and play if you want?" minghao suggests to lighten the mood. soonyoung looks up with a slightly happier expression. "yea? but you need ice for your nose. we should probably go to my place or something." 

"i don't want to ruin your plans." minghao admits. soonyoung can't help but smile. "you didn't. i did." he lets out a deflated chuckle. "but, it's fine. safety must come first." he almost tells minghao to buckle up so they can leave but he sees him grab his wounded nose again and decides that isn't such a great idea. 

"hey, do you mind sitting in the back seat? the seat belts are fully functioning and i don't want to give you seat belt ptsd." 

"way ahead of you." minghao crawls his way between the front seats to the back. of course he struggled a bit due to his insanely long and lanky body. he slithered like a snake- a beheaded one. after getting situated in the back seat and fearfully buckling up soonyoung looks back and smiles. "you could have just opened the door and got in that way but, okay." 

soonyoung pulls out of the arcade and heads further down a road that soon displays suburban looking homes. houses pass by with big pools and long patios attached to them. minghao feels the pain in his face dull as seventeen played quietly again. soonyoung hummed along to "say yes", his features glowing under the red light of a traffic light. minghao stares at the man for a few minutes studying him.

it's getting dark and minghao promised to be home by 10. never did he think he would be going back to the guys house, he still doesn't even know him that well. while he does feel nervous, he can't help but feel a little safe because of how harmless soonyoung appears. he has the most genuine smile minghao has seen in awhile- it's warm and inviting. also, he brought minghao to an arcade for their first date. it's pretty safe to say he won't be murdered.

minghao doesn't notice himself falling asleep until soonyoung taps his knee. 

"hey. i'm not that boring am i?" 

"hm? oh, i'm sorry." minghao rubs his eyes and smiles. 

"you're not boring. it's just- wow these seats are comfortable." 

soonyoung snaps his fingers in an "ah ha" moment. "i probably shouldn't have turned on the seat heaters. they can make anyone fall asleep." he turns to his side to get out of the drivers side and opens the back seat door for minghao, the latter being flustered by the gesture.

"thanks." he looks up at the suburban looking home. it looked like all the other ones they passed on the drive. this one though, had a gay pride flag standing proudly above the entrance. minghao cracked a smile.

"i like your flag." 

soonyoung is totally caught off guard because he looks at the younger with a mildly confused face until his eyebrows raise and he points at the the flag.

"oh- yea. um, thanks. not a lot of people complement my flag." he smiles for the hundredth time tonight.

"oh uh- how's your nose by the way?" soonyoung unlocks the front door with a key and a bear keychain hanging off of it.

minghao feels the arch of his nose gingerly. 

"yea, that still hurts." he hisses. he blindly walks in the house behind soonyoung and looks around to see nice wooden floors and a cool colored living room. 

"welcome home. you can sit on the couch if you want, i'll get you some ice."

minghao nods and awkwardly plants himself on a cream colored sofa. next to the arm rest is a small table and a picture frame of soonyoung wearing a graduation cap and gown. he notices photo frames are scattered all around the living space. 

minghao's pant pocket buzzes with a new message.

channie: come home quick. pls.

me: is everything okay?

channie: not in the slightest. just pls hurry.


	8. chan, what did you do?

minghao's heart sinks. 

what the hell could chan do with in 3 hours?

his fingers nervously drum against the sofa. should he ask soonyoung to take him back to the bus station? but they didn't even get a chance to start their date- god he's going to hate himself for this.

soonyoung returns to minghao with an ice pack wrapped in cloth. he accepts it gratefully and soonyoung sits next to him. 

"are you okay? you look anxious. i swear i'm not a weirdo if that's what you think." soonyoung chuckles.

"u-uh. no," minghao laughs. "i'm sorry soonyoung but my best friend, the one from busan, sent me an urgent text and i need to go see what's wrong." he explains nervously and inwardly flinches at soonyoung's faltering smile.

"oh. it's fine really. i mean, if it's urgent i'll drive you to the bus station now if you want." 

minghao smiles sadly. "god- i'm so sorry this is the worst. i'm so sorry, really i am." soonyoung shakes his head with a small smile and stands to his feet. 

"hao. it's fine okay? please stop apologizing. i get it." he sticks his hand out to the tall boy holding ice to his nose. minghao takes his hand and stands up shakily. he had to admit his knees became a little weak at the new nick name soonyoung gave him.

"my gentleman." soonyoung says in a fancy accent and interlocks their arms. he guides minghao once again through his home and minghao feels his cheeks start to pink.

"how can i make it up to you?" minghao mumbles shyly. "don't worry. i'll find a way." soonyoung says while locking his front door. he turns to minghao with a smile. "i will definitely call you- wait. i don't even have your number." he scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, "can i have your number?"

minghao chuckles and shivers at the same time. "of course, but can we get in the car i'm freezing and i have ice on my face." soonyoung quickly unlocks the doors and assists the lanky boy into the back seat. 

"can you buckle me please?" minghao asks quietly and his cheeks flush again. soonyoung obliges by gently buckling the boy. "i'm still sorry about hitting you in the face earlier. i feel like a big dumb idiot." 

minghao somehow gathers the courage to put a reassuring hand on soonyoung's shoulder. "it's okay. i mean i have to leave early because of my disastrous friend. i think we are even." 

the older leans closer to the boy. without even registering what was happening minghao had soft, plush lips on his cheek. his face suddenly warm. 

"i'm still going to make it up to you. i promise." 

•••

minghao returns home after a long bus ride and several texts and calls from chan. it seemed something really bad had happened and he couldn't get any answers out of the stuttering boy on the phone.

minghao hurried up the steps to his home and stops suddenly seeing his front window is shattered. a decent hole was made in the glass and shards laid on the ground beneath it. minghao took a big breathe and finished jogging up the stairs and opened the door. 

silent and cold. 

minghao shudders and walks slowly through his tiny home. 

"chan?"

he walks closer to his living room seeing a few photo frames on the floor; smashed. a plant knocked over. 

"chan!"

chan stumbles out of the living room with a startled expression. what minghao doesn't expect is jeonghan walking out after him, placing his hands on the smaller's shoulders.

"hi hao."

minghao scrunches his brow and gestures to his surroundings. "what the fuck happened?!" he walks closer to chan and jeonghan. "why is there a giant hole in my window? why is this place a mess?" he angrily points to the boy with long hair. "-and why is he here?"

"hao. listen-"

"someone broke into your house." jeonghan says steadily. chan looks like he's on the verge of crying and clings to jeonghan in fear minghao will lash out. but he doesn't, he just falls to the floor to sit in criss cross apple sauce.

"what?"


	9. annoying boyfriend

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god the spacing in this is horrendous

****chan bites his finger nails.

 

 

 

 

"i went out for a bit. i needed to go out into society hao-ah, i was dying just cooped up inside this little shit house-" minghao frowns. "sorry. anyway, i went shopping for a bit and when i came back," he points to the window with a shaky finger. "that happened and i got scared so i called jeonghan. im sorry hao-ah."

 

 

 

 

minghao sighs. "no one hurt you right?"

 

 

 

 

chan shakes his head and buries his face in jeonghan's chest. "i'm sorry hao." jeonghan puts a hand on chan's head and pets his hair. "it's okay baby. it's not your fault. right minghao?" jeonghan asks with a murderous look in his eyes. almost saying that if minghao said it was his fault, jeonghan would beat his ass into next week.

 

 

 

 

"right. jeonghan's right for once," an eye roll comes from jeonghan. "it's not your fault channie. i'm glad when you got home no one was still here."

 

 

 

 

"i can't help but think it is my fault though..." jeonghan shushes the boy and turns to minghao.

 

 

 

 

"uh, how was your date minghao?"

 

 

 

 

"oh shit. right, uh it was good i guess." the lanky boy said inspecting his broken window.

 

 

 

 

"you guess?"

 

 

 

 

"actually to be quite honest, it was a shit show, but i liked it." one side of his mouth slants upwards in a smile.

 

 

 

 

"what the heck happened to your nose?"

 

 

 

 

minghao's hand flew up to his bruised nose. "oh- it was my fault. it's fine."

 

 

 

 

jeonghan was still rocking the smaller boy in his arms. all of this stress must have put him back into little space. something minghao hasn't been in for days and was dying to regress. he craved the feelings of a little. he wanted to be held and taken care of.

 

 

 

 

"maybe we should go home. back to our safe little house with nice neighbors and no robberies. what do you think channie?"

 

 

 

 

the blonde nodded and nuzzled into the older.

 

 

 

 

"uh, i don't know if you know this or not, but my house was just broken into and i kind of need my best friend right now."

 

 

 

 

jeonghan turned to minghao picking up his picture frames.

 

 

 

 

"oh yeah. sorry minghao, but chan is little right now and this isn't a good environment for him. do you have someone you can stay with?"

 

 

 

 

minghao scoffed. this guy couldn't give less a shit about minghao and vice versa.

 

 

 

 

"no not really. i mean there is wonwoo from work but we aren't that close. chan is all i have."

 

 

 

 

"hao-ah can stay with us!" chan perked up.

 

 

 

 

"no honey i dont think that is a gre-"

 

 

 

 

"perfect! i will pack my things. be back in a jiff." minghao winked at jeonghan and made his way to his bedroom.

 

 

 

 

"chan, i know minghao is your best friend but i don't know if it is a good idea to have him over. what if he turns little like you my love?"

 

 

 

 

chan's cheeks redden. "it's okay hannie. if he is little like me we can play together!" jeonghan, being helplessly in love with the smaller, decides if it will make his boy happy then he can handle a week or two with his miserable friend.

 

 

 

 

"fine. but he stays in the guest room. i am not sharing my bed with the both of you," jeonghan takes chan's thumb out of his mouth. "don't suck your thumb this place has yuckies." chan giggles. "no it doesn't, hao is very clean. he vacuumed so many times while i was here."

 

 

 

 

"probably because he is a sad, boring, per-"

 

 

 

 

"i'm ready!" minghao sports a duffle bag three times the size of chan.

 

 

 

 

"jesus, whats in there? a body?"

 

 

 

 

"yes jeonghan, its obviously an average sized person in my bag."

 

 

 

 

"just get in the car."

 

 

 

•••

 

 

 

the drive back to busan was quiet. minghao updated his parents on what had happened and they surprisingly offered to handle it for him. minghao thanked them and decided to take a nap since the drive was a few hours and it was about 1am.

 

 

 

 

jeonghan played chan's "little" playlist softly through the speakers. most of the songs from the movie tangled. chan was fast asleep in the passengers seat, his fingers entangled with jeonghan. minghao still wondered what his best friend found so interesting in the older, whinier man. at least he treated chan well and hadn't broken his heart- yet.

 

 

 

 

his eyes eventually close but then he remembers falling asleep in his date's car earlier. suddenly he is wide awake again. he decides to send a text to the new number he saved in his phone.

 

 

 

 

**hey. just wanted to say thanks for the date. even though you almost broke my nose :) i hope we can go to that arcade sometime**

**don't make me feel bad :( i am really sorry about hitting you 😪**

**but, you're welcome. i had a great time and i would love to take you to the arcade soon :)**

**wow you text back fast**

**it's 1 am why are you up ?**

**i was watching adventure time....**

**why are you still awake ?**

**adventure time 🤔🤔**

**uhhh funny story. ya know that emergency? my house was robbed. my neighborhood is shit.**

**roBBED ?!**

**wHat**

**arE yOu okAy**

**hAO**

**😰**

**i'm fine !! don't worry i'm staying with my friend chan and his annoying boyfriend jeonghan. it's okay.**

**the friend from busan ?**

**wait why is his bf annoying**

**yes and bc he's some stuffy guy from seoul 😤**

**so you're gonna be in busan is what you're saying**

**yea..?**

**good to know**

 


	10. on a mission

minghao wakes up to a mouth full of pillow. the sun shines through the cracks of the shades. somehow he managed to get into chan's house last night half conscious with a giant duffel bag filled to the brim.

 

 

 

 

he sits up, squinting in the dimly lit room. it's been about a year and half since he's crashed in this very guest room. the light grey walls with blue accents; obviously decorated by a stuffy seoul guy like jeonghan. the place doesn't look much different besides a few picture frames on the raven wood dresser top. looks like a picture of the couple when they went to disney last summer. a trip minghao wasn't invited to and was quite honestly hurt by it. he really wanted to ride the new guardians of the galaxy's new ride.

 

 

 

 

a knock on the door gets his attention.

 

 

 

 

"hey, we are going out to the grocery store to get a few things. chan wants to know if you want to come along." jeonghan states awkwardly staring at the ground. probably because minghao isn't wearing a shirt.

 

 

 

 

"uh, yea. let me brush my teeth." jeonghan turns to pull the door close and quickly adds, "um. i made pancakes and coffee if you want any." with that the door shuts. minghao shivers. he wasn't sure if it was because he was cold or the fact that jeonghan was being docile to him. weird.

 

 

 

 

after brushing his teeth and throwing on a hoodie much too big for him, minghao stumbles out the guest room. the scene before him seems like one out of a movie, but with a twist. chan is running around the kitchen in his underwear and a tiara on his head. jeonghan chases after the smaller, laughing. once the small boy is caught by the taller a scream of happiness escapes his mouth. if minghao were someone else, he might think this is cute.

 

 

 

 

"chan, you have to wear more than your underwear and a tiara to the store! we would get kicked out!" chan struggles in the older's hold. "Don't wanna!"

 

 

 

 

minghao passes the couple with a chuckle. he opts for orange juice instead of coffee. he eyes the pancakes and decides to eat one, even if jeonghan could have poisoned the batter.

 

 

 

 

"hao-ah help!" chan yells dramatically across the kitchen. a shirt being tugged over his head.

 

 

 

 

"sorry channie! but we would get kicked out of the store and i really want to get some twinkies in my stomach." minghao says whilst pouring a massive amount of maple syrup on his pancake.

 

 

 

jeonghan ruffles the pouting boys hair, "cmon kiddo lets put some pants on those chicken legs." the boy is then tossed over jeonghan's shoulder and marched back to his room. minghao sits at the marbled island piling sweet pancakes into his mouth. he wasn't sure if he should compliment jeonghan on his pancake skills later.

 

 

 

 

•••

 

after more pouts from chan and a lot of bribing, the trio finally made it to the store much to chan's dismay. the boy had a hand on the cart at all times because apparently he tends to wander in places like these.

 

 

 

minghao, not needing permission, does wander off from the couple to search for his twinkies. he sluggishly walks by each aisle, hands in his hoodie pocket, hood covering the majority of his face, complete with a white mask. but of course, it's not like he's going out everyday looking for a piece of ass- chan's words.

 

 

 

humming to the store radio, the tall boy spots the twinkies and little debbie's. jackpot. swerving through people to get to his much desired junk food becomes an action movie scene in his head. 

 

 

 

finally got you right where i want you. look at you, just sitting there, waiting for anyone to snatch you up. you're mine now pal. prepare for the ultimate-

 

 

 

"minghao?" a voice interrupts his mid reach for the junk food. he looks up to see warm, brown eyes and a smile.

 

 

 

"soonyoung?" the man is clad in an orange turtle neck, ripped jeans and a basket full of pop tarts and red bull. classy.

 

 

 

"what are you doing here?"

 

 

 

"i'm just getting food with my friend and his boyfriend." minghao grabs ahold of the twinkies. soonyoung smiles.

 

 

 

"the annoying one?" minghao blushes for some reason. "yea. the annoying one." he puts the twinkies behind his back and rocks on his heels. suddenly he feels embarrassed.

 

 

 

"you really looked like you were on a mission for those. are they your favorite?" soonyoung gestures to the treat behind the taller boy.

 

 

 

"you could say that." minghao looks at his basket again. "are cinnamon pop tarts and red bull your favorite?"

 

 

 

"you could say that." minghao laughs. this man was charming.

 

 

 

"i'm surprised you even recognized me underneath all this." he watches the older play with his ear nervously, "i just- knew for some reason." the pair awkwardly shuffle closer to the shelves filled with junk food to let the fellow shoppers by. minghao can't help but notice how beautiful soonyoung looks under this lighting. he's never really seen him in good lighting before.

 

 

 

"hey, since you're going to be staying in the area for a bit, why don't we go to that arcade?" the older smiles again. wow.

 

 

 

"um. sure. yea, that sounds really.... fun." you suck at flirting. soonyoung gestures for them to start walking out of the shopper infested aisle. minghao thinks how he wanted to grab those mini powdered donuts as well as the twinkies but he's more than happy to walk with the man with raven hair.

 

 

 

"are you covered up like that because of your nose? i can't tell you how sorry i am for that." he laughs anxiously. minghao nudges him playfully, "it wasn't your fault. if anything, it was alexandra's fault." the older fiddles with his basket. "you're right. she was never a people person."

 

 

 

"HAO-AH IT'S TIME TO GO HOME!" a voice yells from a couple feet away. minghao sees jeonghan shushing the small boy and scolding him quietly. minghao turns to soonyoung.

 

 

 

"that's my friend and his boyfriend. i guess i have to go since they are paying for my twinkies." soonyoung frowns. "when are you free? for the arcade?"

 

 

 

"i'm free any time."

 

 

 

"tomorrow. 8pm. good?" minghao nods. "should i give you the address-" soonyoung shakes his head with a smile, "text me it tonight. don't forget."  minghao's heart does a backflip, "i won't."

 


	11. party city, piglet, and pain

"we take you to the store and out of all the nutritious, healthy food– you get twinkies." jeonghan piles the grocery bags into the trunk of his spotless, white dad car. "you can be such a bad influence on chan sometimes." he shuts the trunk while shaking his head. minghao leans against the cart with a half-eaten twinkie in his hand.

 

"you may be his daddy but you aren't his actual father, you know that right?" minghao walks the cart to the cart drop off. "and you definitely aren't my daddy so you don't have the right to judge my diet." minghao mumbles something like "airhead" under his breathe but jeonghan doesn't quite catch it. 

 

before the two get into the car jeonghan looks at minghao with a stern look, "i just hope you find somewhere else to stay soon so i don't have to put up with your horrible attitude." minghao sticks his tongue out at him when he turns around. 

 

the two buckle in and chan snacks on some baby carrots. he's going on about how bunnies love carrots and he wants to be a bunny for halloween this year. jeonghan pets his hair with a warm smile. "that's a great idea chan. we can look at the halloween stores now if you're up to it?" the younger nods excitedly and before minghao knows it he's following the two around a very busy party city.

 

"daddy i want that bunny!" chan points to a bunny costume for infants. jeonghan sighs and pats the small boys head. "maybe we can find a bigger one like that. let's look at the big boy ones channie." the younger is lead to the teen boys costumes but not many boys in their teens want to dress up as an adorable bunny for halloween. the smaller looks crushed. minghao can't stand watching his best friend be sad so he goes to find an employee for help. a tall man moving boxes of costumes is the first employee minghao spots. 

 

"uh– excuse me?" the worker is tall, very tall. taller than minghao and that's somewhat of a rare occurrence. he turns around to minghao with black bangs in his eyes. he offers a smile that makes minghao's cheeks pink. 

 

"yes? can i help you?" minghao's eyes flitter to the name tag on his blue vest. seungcheol.

 

"do you have bunny costumes for like.... adults?" 

 

the employee named seungcheol, squinted with a puzzled look. "adult bunny costume?" 

 

"for guys.... not women. not like the ones that are sexy.. like– just a fluffy bunny." minghao scratched the back of his head. the employee cracked a smile and chuckled.

 

"i might have one actually. let me check in the back." the boxes in his muscular arms dropped to the floor. minghao jumped slightly at the sudden drop and watched the man go back into the room full of halloween costumes and decorations. while he waited, he texted soonyoung the address he'd promised earlier. 

 

"okay, so we don't have cute bunny costumes for adults but, i did find this bunny costume for preteen girls." seungcheol holds up a plastic bag containing the costume and the picture of a girl wearing it on the front. the costume was a furry white jacket with a skirt and furry leg warmers and bunny ears. not at all what he had in mind but for some reason he thought his little friend might like it. 

 

"thank you. that's fine." minghao slightly stands on his tip toes to reach the bag from the employee's hands. 

 

"i know it's not what you asked for but–"

 

"i actually think it might be perfect." with that minghao skipped down the busy aisles of party city until he spotted the familiar couple. chan was looking at winnie the pooh party decorations while jeonghan handled a business call.

 

"channie-ah! look what i found!" minghao held out the costume to the small boy holding a mini piglet doll. his eyes widened with excitement and he squealed as he hugged the costume to his chest. "daddy! daddy! dadd–" chan poked jeonghan repeatedly, "just a second please. channie what is it?" chan exploded with a hundred words a second and bounced up and down like he just figured out the phrase on jeopardy. 

 

"i'm on an important call right now baby. have hao-ah by it for you." jeonghan pulled out his credit card and reluctantly gave it to minghao and added, "this is just for the costume. nothing else." minghao nodded. "of course." the tone of his voice hinted with sarcasm. 

 

minghao grabbed chan's hand and pulled him through the store to reach the check out line. he managed to pick up some candy along the way and a tiara, chan still held onto his piglet plush. "daddy said just the costume hao-ah." chan tries to sound intimidating but his baby voice was more cute than scary. minghao tapped the younger's nose. "don't you want that cute piglet plush though channie? he would be so happy to be with all your other plushies. also, i need this candy to survive." 

 

chan looks down at piglet. "he would be really good friends with tigger.."

 

•••

 

"never again am i trusting you with my credit card." after spending $50 at party city, jeonghan stayed quiet the whole ride home. he finally confronts minghao after putting chan down for his afternoon nap.

 

"you said to buy the costume so i did." minghao walks away from the angry man. jeonghan follows him through the kitchen. 

 

"i said JUST the costume. what did you do? you bought two bags of pixie sticks, a tiara, and a stuffed pig!" minghao opens the refrigerator, "piglet." he corrects.

 

"i don't care what the fucking thing is called. i'm pissed off minghao! you never show me respect and i'm your elder for fuck's sake. you're lucky i don't throw your ass out on the street!" 

 

minghao grabs a water bottle from the fridge and turns to jeonghan. "why were you so nice to me this morning?" 

 

"what does that have to do with this?" 

 

"you've never been nice to me and it freaked me the heck out?"

 

jeonghan heaves a sigh and sits on the chair seated at the kitchen island. "i was nice to you because you just had your house broken into and i felt bad okay? that sucks and i thought "hey, maybe i should cut him some slack" but i regret it now because you took advantage of it." 

 

"it didn't seem like you cared when i was picking up shattered family photos. you wanted to go back to busan with chan and leave me." minghao glares at the man. "chan's my best friend and you always keep him away from me. he was my friend for 9 years and then you came along and act like you know him better when you don't. and you'll never know him like i do." minghao doesn't realize he's tearing up until the stuffy, seoul guy blurs. he blinks the tears harshly away. 

 

"minghao." that's all jeonghan can say. he's never seen minghao act like this. he's almost scared he'll make him cry so he stays quiet but this just makes the younger angrier. "fuck you." 

 

minghao storms off to the guest room and locks the door. jeonghan remains sitting at the kitchen island with his head in his hands. a shuffle of feet gets his attention; chan is standing in the kitchen entrance with a blanket wrapped around him like a cape, sleep evident in his eyes. 

 

"daddy what's wrong?" the small boy sluggishly moves closer to sit on jeonghan's lap. a sad smile spreads across the older's face, "nothing my love. let's get you back to bed."


	12. stranger things

minghao slammed the door behind him. the tears of frustration fell down his flushed cheeks. between crying and throwing the blankets off his bed, he manages to bury himself under the soft warmth of the sheets and pulls out his phone.

 

that annoying guy dating my best friend? i hate him. i hate his guts.

 

although he hated the thought of annoying soonyoung over a stupid fight he wouldn't even understand, minghao needed someone to talk to. desperately.

 

i can't stay here any longer. i need to leave.

 

gOD WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS!!!????

 

fuckING TWAT

 

HE THINKS HE CAN TAKE CHAN AWAY FROM ME

 

FUNNY. REAL FUNNY YOU SEWER RAT

 

HE'S MY BEST FRIEND

 

i can't lose him

 

i can't

 

the phone in his hands shakes with anger and fear. the thought of losing chan; the only friend he has to some know it all like jeonghan, it's terrifying. his shoulders shake and his sobs wrack through his body almost violently. on top of everything, having his house broken into and fighting with his best friend's boyfriend, he hasn't regressed in awhile. a week and a half? two weeks? he's lost count of the days. his followers must be worried, not that this hasn't happened before, sometimes minghao can go two months without feeling the need to be little. It's totally normal but sometimes he desperately needs that little push to help him into regression. being little was the way he got through daily struggles and stress of the real world. without relieving the built up stress, minghao bursts. the anxiety attacks come back, the bad thoughts come back.

 

to his side, his phone vibrates. flipping it over, he realizes it's soonyoung. he fights with himself for a few seconds if he should answer or not. he can't scare the man with nice brown eyes away so soon, they haven't even gone on a proper date yet. also, something about soonyoung makes his heart flutter and it hasn't done that in awhile.

 

guilt begins to take over him. he taps the green button and holds it to his ear, trying to calm himself down.

 

"minghao? what's wrong? i don't have much time. i'm on my lunch break-"

 

a sob leaves the brunette's mouth. the man's voice sounded so warm and velvety. he felt safe.

 

"hao-ah what happened? please tell me." his voice stern and desperate at the same time. minghao tries to form words but nothing comes out. the background noise on the phone sounds like soonyoung is walking around.

 

"hey, hao-ah. come down. breathe for me okay? breathe." the brunette nods wishing he was with him right now.

 

"i-i'm sorry soonyoung hyung." his voice so broken, so defeated. he was letting the bad thoughts in again.

 

"sorry? for what? minghao-"

 

"i'm s-sorry for b-bothering y-ou."

 

"you aren't bothering me honey, i'm the one who called you. if anything, i'm the one bothering you."

 

minghao's voice is caught in his throat again. he tries to steady his breathing but his heart is doing the opposite.

 

"you c-could never bother me.."

 

the velvety voice chuckles, low and warm. minghao's face reddens, maybe it's a good thing he isn't with him right now.

 

"i've been told by many i can be very bothersome- annoying even."

 

minghao cracks a smile. "why would they say that?"

 

"i have a lot of energy for a 21 year old." soonyoung's voice sounding fond. "but listen to me hao-ah. we aren't done talking about why you are so upset. i understand if you don't want to talk about it right now but when i pick you up tomorrow, i need you to tell me so i can help you. okay?"

 

minghao sniffles. "i- it's dumb."

 

"it's not dumb if it'a got you this worked up honey."

 

the name "honey" wracks through his brain. he called him that twice already and they've barely been talking for 2 minutes. soonyoung was that push into regression and minghao chased after it.

 

"it is.."

 

voices on the phone are heard. soonyoung probably has to go back to work. the anxiety comes back, he needs soonyoung right now.

 

"i don't have much time on the phone. maybe i can pick you up after my shift? how's that sound?"

 

minghao's chest feels less heavy. one weight being removed at a time.

 

"y-yea okay."

 

minghao doesn't see it, but soonyoung smiles so brightly. "good. i'll see you at... 5?" minghao hums in agreement and heaves a sigh when the line goes dead.

 

the bed looks bigger. he feels smaller amongst the sheets and blankets. it's the afternoon but the blinds are shut and the curtains are dark. the darkness seduces him into a short nap, something he needs after having one his "episodes" as his therapist used to call it. fuck that guy.

 

 

•••

 

soonyoung pulls up to the address minghao sent him last night. the house looked like it belonged to a family of four. the garden out front displayed an assortment of flowers and decorative pieces planted in the soil.  the white car – a prius – might he add, had a license plate with some star wars pun on it. he double checked the message minghao sent him.

 

triple checking the house number, soonyoung hesitantly walks up to the front door. the doorbell makes a sing songy sound and childlike screams and giggles are heard on the other side of the door. for a second he thinks of booking it because this house really did belong to a family of four until a familiar face opens the door looking disheveled.

 

for a second he almost says "annoying boyfriend..? right?" but then he decides to go with, "hello. i'm soonyoung. is minghao here?" he feels like he's back in elementary school asking his friends parents if they can go to the park with him. only this time they don't come up with an excuse to not let their son or daughter play with the boy who kissed another boy in school.

 

"uh, yea. you were at the market right?" jeonghan points a finger at him trying to puzzle it together. soonyoung nods with a smile. "yes that was me." the smaller boy he saw earlier, which is hao's best friend chan, came up behind the man at the door.

 

"hey aren't you hao-ah's daddy?"

 

soonyoung's face darkens red.

 

"i'm his friend... um.." the tension suddenly thick. the man apologizes for the smaller's bluntness and invites him in.

 

"i'm jeonghan. i don't know if minghao has told you about me but if he did it probably wasn't anything good." he picks up the boy into his arms and uses the bib around the smaller's neck to wipe the crumbs from his face.

 

soonyoung shifts on both feet. nope nothing good at all.

 

"is he here?"

 

jeonghan points to the hallway behind him. "he's in the guest room. he's been sleeping i presume." his tone changes.

 

soonyoung just nods and walks down the small hallway. walls filled with picture frames and religious quotes. this whole situation is odd. he opens one door and finds it to be a bathroom. let's see what's behind door number 2.

 

the door creaked slightly. the room dark and looked like no one occupied it until he saw a body under the covers. praying to god it was actually the boy he's been looking for, he walks towards them slowly trying not to wake them. leaning down, he sees the familiar tuft of caramel hair and soft tan skin. his heart picks up a little.

 

"minghao..?"

 

the boy looked drained. after his phone call with him earlier he didn't know what to expect when he saw him later that day but he definitely didn't imagine him sleeping in another man's house.

 

he debated just leaving because minghao looked like he really needed the sleep but he also really wanted to check in with him and see how we was feeling. his fingers carded through the boy's hair. it was soft, just like he he imagined it would be.

 

"minghao-ah. wake up."

 

the boy stirred, his arms reaching above his head to stretch. his tired, brown eyes shifted to the man beside him. he looked alarmed.

 

"hyung?"

 

"it's okay. you're okay. i'm just here to see how you are doing." minghao melted into the fingers carding through his hair. chest feeling lighter.

 

"is it 5?"

 

soonyoung nodded and chuckled as minghao groaned.

 

"i-i'm sorry i lost track of time."

 

"it's okay, really. i almost didn't even knock on the door because i thought this home belonged to a family but, turns out it doesn't." his smile warm like how minghao remembered it. "you're intriguing minghao."

 

"do you want to go somewhere?" minghao sits up and the hand in his hair leaves, much to his distaste. "we can go to that arcade?" soonyoung sits next to him and puts his bag on the ground. "we can stay here if you want. or i could just leave and let you sleep some more." soonyoung inspects his face. nose bruise still very much there, sharp jaw line, natural glow, messy hair. what a dream.

 

minghao frowns. "don't leave."

 

soonyoung feels his face get hotter. "then i won't."

 

minghao wraps the blankets around himself tighter. "can we go to your place? i just – can't be in this house any longer."

 

"i have to pick up something for my little cousin's birthday party. wanna come?"

 

minghao nods and soonyoung stands to his feet. he holds out his hand for the younger but his hands pull tighter at the blankets covering him.

 

"i have to get dressed." his cheeks turn pink and he looks down. soonyoung claps his hands and makes his way to the door. "alright. 5 minutes."

 

•••

 

minghao ends up back at the place where the fight started. party city.

 

soonyoung informed him his cousin was turning 5 this weekend and was throwing a strawberry shortcake themed party. the balloons his aunt ordered of the strawberry girl were much bigger than he expected. the worker filled the balloons with helium as the pair walked around.

 

"you're close with your family?" soonyoung smiles. "very. we're kinda small so we stay together." minghao feels the longing in his heart. his family was never really close. never really connected.

 

"what about you?"

 

minghao shook his head. "not really." he loved them, and they loved him but it was complicated. "we never really talked. we kinda just went through the motions i guess."

 

soonyoung nodded in understanding. "you didn't grow up here. where did you grow up?"

 

"back in china i-" a worker carrying big boxes of costumes walked by them. tall, dark hair, familiar.

 

"china?"

 

minghao laughed. "yes, china. that's where i'm from." soonyoung looked completely dumbfounded. "i would have never guessed."

 

the worker at the balloon counter rolled his eyes counted the balloons. "your 10 balloons are ready." soonyoung pulls out his wallet and pays the teenager at the counter. the same worker minghao saw earlier brought another box to the front. this time, looked over at minghao and smiled. seungcheol?

 

the tall man walked back to the back of the store for more boxes but didn't leave without eyeing minghao first. his black hair in his eyes again, his dimples coming out when he smiled.

 

minghao is brought back to reality when soonyoung turns to him with 5 balloons in each hand. "let's go."  minghao offers to hold some but soonyoung just asks him to hold the door for him and his 10 inflatable strawberry girls.

 

stuffing them in the trunk took 5 attempts and lots of laughter from the younger. after squeezing all 10 in and successfully closing the trunk the two hop back into the car, minghao sticking to the back seat after his seatbelt trauma.

 

"so, my house?" soonyoung looks back at the boy in the back seat. he tries to resist cooing at the sight of him. pink cheeks, big striped polo long sleeve, circle glasses hanging low on his perfectly shaped nose. the boy nods. soonyoung leaves the parking lot after putting on seventeen.


	13. halloween night part 1

"chan, hold still. it's cold outside and you're going to freeze your little cotton tail off." jeonghan wraps the squirming boy in a heavily padded winter coat. 

"daddy! no one can see my costume if i'm wearing this!" the painted whiskers on the smaller's face contorting with the frown forming on his face. 

"you're going to be a bunny popsicle if you don't wear this sweetheart, i'm sorry." he manages to zip the coat all the way up to the boys chin. chan stomps his foot with a whine. 

"why isn't hao-ah coming?" chan's voice smaller than before. ever since he saw minghao and jeonghan fighting that night he hasn't been able to shake it. he knew they bickered, he thought it was banter most of the time but, what he saw that night was pure hatred. 

jeonghan sniffs and pulls the smaller in close. "he's too big to go trick-or-treating love." chan pouts. "i saw you daddy... i saw you two.. fight." he plays with cotton tail nervously. jeonghan sighs.

"minghao was grumpy. you know how he gets channie. you get like that too, you know? you can be such a bratty boy." he pitches the boys cheek. 

"daddy stop!" chan twists in his hold; giggling.  

"don't worry about minghao my little carrot-lover. he's with soonyoung tonight." he stands up and looks for his phone. the smaller picks up his buzz lightyear trick-or-treat bag. 

"the hamster guy who came to our house?" 

jeonghan laughs and shoves his phone in his jacket pocket. he turns to the boy in the bunny costume sucking his thumb. "yes, him. he did look like a hamster didn't he?" chan nods and runs to the window watching kids and their parents walk around the streets filled with brightly colored leaves. little devil's and elsa's walking by every so often. 

"daddy. we gotta go now and get the good candy!" chan whines from his position at the window. he's standing on his tippy toes, trying to get a good look at his competition for the night. jeonghan grabs his hand and the couple leave, making sure to lock the door and put out a bowl of candy.  

chan runs ahead. he almost fits into the crowd of kid perfectly. jeonghan was lucky chan was so small for his age, he couldn't imagine saying no to trick-or-treating because the kids and parents would think oddly of him. but to his pleasure, chan is the same height as a group of 5th graders; he has a baby face to match. 

jeonghan struggles to keep up with the boy. he's managed to hit up 10 houses already and even spark up a conversation with their neighbor and her friendly cat. she was unaware of the relationship the two had, probably thought they were brothers. she always treated chan very nicely and let him help her in her garden over the summer. chan brought home fresh vegetables once a week along with dirt all over his hands and face.

"chan! slow down, you're going to trip!"   
"channie, you can't walk across someone's lawn! use the sidewalk!"

by the end of the night, the boy dressed as a bunny was sluggishly following jeonghan home, jeonghan dragging him by his hand. the bag in his hand a third of the way full. the neighborhood fell for chan, some pinching his cheeks and asking him what grade in school he was. it was obvious he got more candy due to his charms. 

the boy was now sleep walking; bunny whiskers smeared over his cheeks. "daddy. i can't walk anymore." the boy paused on the side walk and whined into his boyfriend's chest. "c'mon baby, just a few more blocks." chan shook his head and stomped his foot. "don't stomp your foot at me, mister."

"daddy? where is hao-ah?" jeonghan was now giving the tired boy a piggy-back ride.

the streets were starting to become vacant as the sky turned dark blue, stars poking through clouds. "why didn't he come trick-or-treating with us?" the tired boy murmurs into the older's neck. 

"he couldn't find a costume, baby." this of course was a lie. minghao and jeonghan had not been in the same room nor have they shared a glance in three days. jeonghan wasn't angry at minghao for feeling the way he did, he thought it was foolish of minghao for thinking he was taking chan away from him though. he knew chan cherished the tall boy very much, always thinking of him at random moments, telling jeonghan funny stories about the two, never missing a single birthday or christmas present. he knew their friendship had started when they were both young and that chan was minghao's only friend. minghao was heartbroken when chan moved in with jeonghan in his busan home. minghao had tried dating before but it never seemed to work out, he always distanced himself from his partners. jeonghan remembered taking chan to seoul to cheer up minghao after his second failed relationship. he could tell from the beginning that he never liked him. minghao always turning cold around jeonghan or giving him attitude and snarky remarks. jeonghan learned it was easier just to go along with it. after all the bickering and arguing though, the hatred minghao had towards jeonghan became mutual. 

"he told me he was going to be kermit the frog, daddy!" the boy whines into jeonghan's shoulder. lying to chan wasn't an easy thing to do, it also made him feel a bit guilty.

"guess the party store ran out of kermit costumes, baby." chan made a noise of defeat and remained quiet the rest of the walk home. the bag full of candy felt like bricks, hitting jeonghan with every step he took. in this moment, he just wanted to lay on the couch accompanied with a giant glass of wine.

getting chan to bed was easy, but rubbing the bunny paint off his face and wriggling him out of his costume was another story. the boy was asleep and if jeonghan didn't know what a heavy sleeper the boy was, he might have thought he was dead.

after about an hour of cleaning up the sleeping boy, jeonghan nearly collapsed on the living room couch. he fumbled around looking for the remote and settled on watching a re-run of operah. of course, he wasn't really paying attention. he wondered if minghao was in his room sleeping or went out to god knows where at this hour and partying with strangers. although he detests him, jeonghan can't help but think if chan were awake right now, he would be worried, so he should be worried. 

his worries soon are forgotten as he sees the back door open and walking in is minghao, decked out in a kermit the frog costume. behind the giant frog is a ryan bear. the pair is giggling and whispering until they hear the tv and turn to see jeonghan sprawled out on the couch in front of them. 

"so you did dress up as kermit the frog." minghao lowers his eyes at his elder. 

"where is channie?" 

"asleep. he kept asking about you the whole night." minghao stiffens and then sighs. "i'll make it up to him." he grabs the bear's hand and quietly drags him to his room. jeonghan decides not to press any further. he doesn't care anyway. 

minghao closes the guest room door and bangs his head on it repeatedly. 

"hey, don't do that, silly." soonyoung pulls him away from the door. soonyoung looks ridiculous. he removed his bear head after hours of dancing in it all night and his skin was covered in sweat. his hair sticking up in crazy spots. his eyes are slanted in his classic, cute smile. 

"i totally ditched him tonight so i wouldn't have to be around... him."

soonyoung stands closer to him,"hao-ah, what happened the other night? you were so upset, did jeonghan say something?" soonyoung's voice is quiet. he treads lightly over the subject, hoping not to upset the taller further.

minghao trembles. the anger starting to boil inside him again. soonyoung notices this of course. 

"he —" minghao chokes up, "it doesn't matter." soonyoung's hand rests on his cheek, "minghao." the stern voice pushes minghao over the edge. the regression he so badly needed, finally taking affect. he whimpers, his legs feeling week. he just needs to be held, he just needs to feel someone close to him. 

soonyoung grabs him before he can fall, minghao sobs. he's been alone for so long, no one has stuck around long enough in his life besides chan. but here was this nice guy, with his brown, soft eyes and hamster smiles, his soft, meaningful touches, his lame jokes and his welcoming arms. 

soonyoung. soonyoung. soonyoung.

minghao grabs onto the polyester, bear costume tightly. 

stay with me. please, just stay with me. 

"minghao? oh my god."

"stay please. stay."

soonyoung's eyes were wide with fear, but at the boy's pitiful request, they softened. 

"yea, of course." 

minghao's heart slowed. his breathing returning to normal. his arms wrapped around soonyoung tightly, like he will disappear. the man struggles a bit to stand up, taking the boy with him. he sets him down on the bed best he can while wearing a bear costume. 

"let's just take this off, okay?" his hands fiddle with the kermit hat on minghao's head, slipping it over his caramel locks. soonyoung pets down his hair and smiles down at minghao. 

"i feel a bit ridiculous in this bear costume now." minghao hums softly in response and leans into his touch. 

"hao-ah? are you feeling okay?" minghao feels cloudy, hazy actually. like sleep and some type of drug combined. 

"stay.." he whispers. soonyoung holds the boy's chin in his hand. "i'm not leaving minghao. i'm right here." 

"i want... sleep." minghao mumbles. soonyoung pushes him back lightly against the bed and adjusts the blankets around him. minghao holds onto soonyoung's wrist and the older blushes. 

"come here." soonyoung chuckles. "i'm wearing a giant bear costume honey, i can't." minghao whines and pulls him closer anyways. 

"okay. okay. give me a minute." he steps back and struggles to take off the costume. he's still all sweaty from dancing but he sweat more at the thought of laying with minghao next to him. 

hastily removing the costume for two minutes, he finally kicked the costume off his feet. the only problem now was that all he wore under it was a white t-shirt and his boxers. he looks around and spots minghao's suitcase and digs around for some pants. 

minghao whines from the bed and reaches out for him. soonyoung pulls up a pair of sweats over his legs and nearly stumbles towards the younger. 

"i'm here. it's okay."

he sits on the bed with the boy and minghao holds his hand. "sleep.." soonyoung lays on the bed with a pillow between the two. minnghao is still holding his hand across the pillows. minghao sniffles. 

"are you sure you're okay?"

minghao turns to face him, wet tear tracks run along his cheeks. soonyoung holds back the urge to wipe them away. 

"i-i'm sorry... for that."

"no no. don't be," soonyoung squeezes his hand, "just... what happened?" minghao looks down. 

"it's been awhile since someone has taken care of me... i just... feel so safe with you. i-" he hiccups, "i need... you. hyung, i really need you." 

soonyoung gulps, nervous but not scared. he wants this. he too, needs minghao.

"i'm here for you. i want to be... with you." minghao looks up surprised.

"w-with me?"

"only, if you let me."

minghao's cheeks flush for the billionth time that night. if you would just let me kiss you.

"i will allow that." soonyoung smiles at that. 

"can i move closer to you?" soonyoung whispers. minghao nods and the older moves the pillow aside quickly. he nestles himself closer to the taller and shakily laughs. 

"you're so pretty hao-ah." 

"yea?"

"very pretty, in fact."

the taller's breathe stutters. "you're beautiful too." soonyoung laughs again and moves even closer, if that's humanly possible. minghao needed this. he's craved this kind of warmth for so long, finally having it — feels like completion. 

"hao-ah." minghao looks up and soonyoung is so close. so very close. maybe too close. their noses brush together and minghao's breathe becomes jagged again. 

the hand in his hair moves to his cheek, the older's thumb brushing his lips softly. is this real?

"go to sleep. i'm right here." 

minghao looks at his soft, pink lips. they look so supple and moist, like a piece of flan. they probably taste like the cinnamon gum he chews, if he touched them, his finger would be zapped with sparks. he feels so warm and dizzy. soonyoung licks his lips and minghao is snapped out of his trance. 

soonyoung's eyes flutter. his chocolate, beautiful eyes, framed by dozens of butterfly-like eyelashes. why is he doing this to me?

"hao. stop looking at me like that." 

minghao shakes his head, "never." 

soonyoung sits up on his elbow and cradles the younger's face in his other hand. 

"i warned you." soonyoung leans down and captures minghao's lips with his own. minghao gasps into his mouth. soonyoung tastes just like cinnamon — as he suspected. his lips feel so soft, like he puts on chapstick every five seconds. the kiss is long and sluggish but minghao feels it, the passion, the need, the want. it's utterly mind-blowing. 

"s-soon." 

he pulls away and looks down at minghao, breathing heavy. "i — you wanted me to do that right?" minghao giggles and hides his face with his hands and nods. "yes. very badly." 

soonyoung laughs and moves the younger's hands away from his face. "don't hide from me, little one." 

minghao whines at the nickname. 

soonyoung kisses the corner of his mouth and nestles back into his side. "now that you got what you wanted, go to sleep."


	14. texts from halloween night

soonyoung hyung 9:43 p.m.

hello :)

are you doing anything tonight?

there's this halloween party tonight at a friend of mine's

idk if party's are your thing but i just thought i would ask

just in case

... pls respond i don't want to show up in my ryan costume alone

 

minghao-ah :) 10:00 p.m.

sorry i was sleeping

uhhh party??

hmmm idk

also

your dressing up as ryan the bear for halloween ?

pls send pics

 

soonyoung hyung 10:03 p.m.

r u ever conscious ?

why send pics when you can come with me n see for urself :)

 

minghao-ah :) 10:04 p.m.

why would i ever want to be awake ?

hyunnnngg

i've never been to a party 

i don't know if it's a good idea

 

soonyoung hyung 10:06 p.m.

don't whine n go put on a costume

it will be SO FUN !

pls

for me??

 

minghao-ah :) 10:25 p.m.

i've thought about it

 

soonyoung hyung 10:26 p.m.

that took forever wth ????

will you come?

pls

pretty pls

 

minghao-ah :) 10:28 p.m.

i will...

 

soonyoung hyung 10:28 p.m.

YES YES YES YAYYYYY

 

minghao-ah :) 10:29 p.m.

don't get too excited

i'm the worst party-er ever

 

soonyoung hyung 10:30 p.m.

not with me ur not

it's going to be so FUN 

TRUST ME

my friends are gonna adore you omg

 

minghao-ah :) 10:32 p.m.

frIENDS ?

no no no 

i'm not good with ppl hyung

ur already a lot to handle

 

soonyoung hyung 10:32 p.m.

what do you mean i'm a lot to handle

huff >:(

rude..

 

minghao-ah :) 10:33 p.m.

dont be mad

you know i like u the way u are

...im just so awkward

pls spare me hyung

 

soonyoung hyung 10:37 p.m.

ur not awkward hao-ah

ur adorable

so put on a damn costume 

 

minghao-ah 10:39 p.m. 

...

okay

:/

 

soonyoung hyung 10:58 p.m.

come outside 

:)


	15. halloween night part 2

"how can you drive with that thing on?"

soonyoung turns to look at minghao, pointing his big bear finger, "don't judge me okay? you're wearing a kermit the frog costume." soonyoung turns back to the road, cheeks noticeably pinker. 

"where did you get that anyway?"

"it was on sale last year. i think i was drunk, not really sure." minghao recalls. he does remember walking around target one afternoon and spotting the costume on sale but, soonyoung doesn't have to know he bought it completely sober. 

"where did you get yours?"

soonyoung's cheek turn a brighter shade of pink, "um. it was my sisters." 

minghao can't help but crack a smile. not because it was his sister's, but it was just so damn adorable. 

"don't laugh at me." 

"i'm not, hyung."

soonyoung parks the car in front of another suburban home much like his. the home appears to be normal albeit, there was toilet paper hanging from the trees and numerous cars parked outside.  the typical college party. 

"you know not to drink anything anyone gives you, right?" minghao nods. with thag being said, the two tumble out of the vehicle and walk into the overcrowded, loud home. minghao stays close to soonyoung as the older walks through the thick crowd of people dancing. while looking for soonyoung's friends, minghao has scoped out the place spotting a few policeman costumes, captain americas and a few bananas. no one else has a ryan the bear or kermit the frog costume as he can see. 

"hoshi hyung!" 

soonyoung squeals in excitement and grabs minghao's wrist pulling him in the direction of his friends. 

"you're early! also— what are you wearing?" the boy with caramel hair asks. minghao peers over soonyoung's shoulder to get a better look.

"i'm ryan." he does a twirl, "the bear." 

"very cute as usual, hyung." 

"ah!" soonyoung steps over and brings minghao from behind him. "this is minghao." 

the boys bow to each other and smile. 

"hi minghao, i'm seokmin!" minghao stumbles back at how loud he is. 

"h-hi." 

"he's a little shy." soonyoung says wrapping his big bear arm around his waist. 

"this is his first party." minghao smacks his arm away, "stop."

"what? don't be embarrassed hao-ah. my friends and i will look after you and make sure you have a good time." soonyoung smiles. minghaos heart stutters.

"guys, just a warning— don't go in the downstairs bathroom." another boy with blue-ish hair says looking absolutely horrified. 

"why..? wait- do i want to know?" seokmin asks. 

"no. you really don't hyung." he looks up and sees minghao. "oh, hello." 

"hello. i'm minghao." the boys eyebrows raise for a second and vanish. "hello, i'm hansol. i've been waiting to meet you." the two shake hands and soonyoung takes a big gulp of seokmin's drink. 

"oh really..?" minghao looks questionably at soonyoung.  

"time to dance!" soonyoung yells and grabs seokmin. minghao and hansol follow after them regretfully. 

"does soonyoung hyung talk about me?" hansol laughs and readjusts his woody cowboy hat, "a lot actually." 

the two watch the other two dance aggressively to an edm song blaring through the speakers. dance really wasn't something minghao enjoyed, and by the look of hansol's face, he didn't enjoy it either. 

"i like your costume. i've never seen someone dressed as kermit in all my years of going to these dumb parties." the two find a somewhat vacant couch and sit down, still keeping the other goofballs in their field of vision. 

"who's house is this anyways?"

"oh, it's mina's. do you know her?" hansol pulls a rubber snake out of his boot and fiddles with it, "uh, no. i don't really know anyone at all, actually." 

"oh right. you didn't go to college with hoshi hyung." 

"hoshi?"

hansol puts the snake back in his boot, "it's a nickname we gave him in college. it's japanese for star. his smile is kind of bright like a star at night." minghao blushes and nods, "you're totally right."

a girl looking very drunk, waddles her way over to the two of them and frowns at hansol. 

"hey! woody! w-where is my," she burps, "girlfriend?" 

"jesus, how much did you drink, jihyo?" he laughs.

"i lost track after 6 bottles." 

the girl looks like she's going to throw up in a stranger's empty cup. "i saw chaeyoung playing beer pong." jihyo burps again and turns back to find her girlfriend.

minghao redirects his attention to soonyoung and seokmin dancing, only to find the both of them gone.

"oh no, where did he go?" 

minghao sits uncomfortably in his kermit costume. it's starting to get really hot.

"hey c'mon, let's get a drink." hansol takes minghao's wrist and pulls him through thick crowds of college kids. the place reeked of alcohol and vomit. maybe weed as well. not a good mix. 

"he scolded seokmin and i about looking after you, ya know?" hansol picks up two black, paper cups filling one with coke and rum and one with just coke. he hands the coke to minghao. 

"he scolded you? sorry." 

hansol laughs and pats him on the back. 

"you know hoshi hyung has a big crush on you, right?" 

minghao's face burns bright pink. hansol laughs and shakes his head. the taller takes a big gulp of his soda suddenly wishes it was the strongest alcohol. 

"speak of the devil!" hansol pulls out a fake pistol and shoots soonyoung. "howdy, hoshi hyung!"

soonyoung walks passed him and takes minghao's cup away from him. "he didn't try and drug you did he?" he inspects the cup and hansol looks very offended. 

"hey you jerk, i was looking after him when you and peter parker over here took off and abandoned him!" 

"i didn't abandon him! i was simply checking out the bathroom you warned us about earlier." soonyoung hands minghao his drink back. "and you were right, i should have never let my curiosity get the best of me." soonyoung looks like he was suffering war flashbacks.

"i fucking told you, you dumb idiot." hansol flicks him on the forehead and makes a run for it before soonyoung can get his paws on him. his literal paws. 

minghao was still pink in the face after hearing that soonyoung had a crush on him. was he messing with minghao? just trying to pull his chain? 

"sorry i left you with that dipshit." his cheeks are also pink but not for the same reason. he's probably a little tipsy. 

"i-it's fine hyung." 

soonyoung flashes his toothy smile. "dance with me?" 

minghao doesnt have a say in the situation, the elder is already pulling him back into the adolescent sea. bumping into several people on his trip, he stands rigidly in the middle of the crowd. soonyoung's body already moving to the beat of the music being played loudly. his smile never leaving his face. minghao smiles at the fact that his friends call him hoshi, he shines like no other.

"hao-ah!"

minghao breaks his trance and looks back at soonyoung.

"c'mon! dance with me!" 

minghao smiles sheepishly and starts moving like soonyoung. it's utterly embarrassing but, with soonyoung's laughter in his ears he feels his worries fade.

telling by the way soonyoung moves, it's obvious that he has had lessons before. minghao struggles to copy his every move, but soonyoung catches him copying him and decides to throw in some complicated footwork. before they know it, a crowd starts to form around the two. minghao can hear seokmin and hansol laughing somewhere in the crowd but he's too entranced watching soonyoung he can't be bothered to find them. 

"GO HOSHI GO!" the chant is repeated dozens of times before soonyoung finally gives it a rest. another person steps into the ring of the teenagers and replaces soonyoung. the sweaty, ryan bear, wordlessly grasps minghao's hand and drags him away from the shouting.

"enjoy the show?" the older pulls out a cold beer from a cooler in the kitchen. minghao gulps. 

"i didn't know you could dance.."

soonyoung pops the cap and chugs half the bottle, "yea, i have been taking lessons since i was 9." he wipes his mouth with his paw, "so you're saying it was impressive?"

minghao tries to hide behind a cabinet and avoid answering the question. by luck, hansol comes running in, shouting. 

"AMAZING WORK BY THE DANCING BEAR HOSHI!" he high fives soonyoung and pulls out a beer. "cheers to you man." he clinks his bottle with soonyoung's and seokmin stands next to minghao giving him a questionable look as to why he was hiding behind a cabinet. minghao shrugs and seokmin shrugs and joins his friends. 

"hey minghao, stop hiding and drink to hoshi-hyung showing everyone up tonight!" minghao peers around the cabinet and mumbles something like "i have to go to the bathroom." 

first of all, why does he keep going red every time soonyoung talks to him and why is his heart beating so fast? second of all, where is the fucking bathroom?

he manages to slither past couples practically having sex in the hallway and finds an empty room. not the bathroom but a good place to think. he tugs his kermit hat off and sits on the bed. 

was tonight a mistake? he did warn the older that he has never been to a party. he just doesn't belong in this scene. he's that one boy in mean girls who calls his mom to come pick him up when everyone starts fighting because he's scared.

he groans and tugs at his hair. not only his pathetic social life frustrating, but so is soonyoung. 

soonyoung. soonyoung. soonyoung. soonyoung. soonyoung.

"you okay in here?"

minghao startles and looks up to the voice.

wait, i've seen him before.

"i saw you in the hallway and you looked like you were going to barf. had to make sure you didn't do it in here cus it's my bedroom."

"i-i..this is your room?"

the dark haired boy closes the door behind himself and smiles, "yea. this is my party. i always throw parties like these around halloween"

his costume looks like a normal outfit besides the bloodied bat with nails sticking out of it.

"you're kermit right?" he gestures to minghao's attire and minghao's face turns pink.

"ah, yea. what are you?" 

the boy picks up his bat and puts a hand through his hair dramatically, " i am steve from stranger things. most people think i am negan from walking dead but i don't have a really nice leather jacket like him."

minghao stands from the bed and puts his hat back on, "haven't we met before?"

the other boy smiles and lowers his bat. "yea. i have seen you at party city a few times. i'm the manager."

"now it makes sense why you throw so many halloween parties."

his smile is quite gummy now that minghao looks at it. 

"do you wanna get some drinks? i mean, if you want to." he opens the door to lead minghao out but before the pair can leave a boy in a giant bear costume is standing there blocking the way.

"hyung?" the dark haired boy turns to see the smaller man in the bear costume accompanied by seokmin and hansol. 

"who are you?" soonyoung asks, looking up slightly to confront the party city employee, "seungcheol. who are you guys?"

"i'm hansol!" he reaches his hand out quickly to shake seungcheol's hand, "love the costume by the way."

he warily shakes the cowboy's hand and gestures back to minghao.

"you guys friends?"

soonyoung pushes past the strong boy and grasps minghao's hand for the second time that night. more like, the second time in one hour.

"wait, haven't i also seen you before?" 

soonyoung's lips form into a pout and his bros furrow.

"sorry, don't think so pal." he continues dragging the lanky boy out of the suspicious boy's room, followed by seokmin.

"hoshi-hyung? where are you going?"

the pair holding hands stop and soonyoung still has a pout etched on his lips, "i am taking hao home." he looks back to see hansol chit-chatting with seuncheol and rolls his eyes. "please don't let hansol get too comfy with that dude." the two head back down stairs and before they arrive at the exit minghao stops.

"hao-"

"i don't want to leave."

soonyoung drops his hand and looks surprised.

"i thought you hated parties?"

the younger looks at the hand that was held by the older, "i.. i was having a good time. and i don't want tonight to end on a bad note."

the man in the bear costume contemplates the boy's request and sighs heavily.

"i'm sorry hao, you're right. we should have fun."

he looks back to the crowd and a smile creeps onto his face.

"want to have another dance off?"


	16. jealousy? never met her

after a somewhat sleepless night in soonyoung's arms, minghao cracked open his eyes to see the hot sun through the blinds. 

it wasn't a sleepless night because he was uncomfortable, or maybe a little. mainly, he just couldn't stop thinking about soonyoung leaning down and kissing him. cus wow. that was something.

soonyoung stirs next to him and he peers over. his hair is a complete mess but something about it is endearing. 

"sleep okay?" he mumbles into the pillow. minghao almost didn't catch it.

"um. yea."

soonyoung smiles with his eyes closed and stretches.

"good. i was a little worried you wouldn't sleep 'cos i kissed you."

minghao's ears turn pink.

so that did really happen? wasn't just my imagination?

"oh, right. the kiss." he tries to play cool.

soonyoung looks at him now, almost inspecting him.

"you're already blushing."

"what? no. no i am not." minghao rolls over to face the other way and feels the older slide his arms around his waist.

"you enjoyed it right? are you embarrassed?" 

"i... it was really... nice. and no, I'm not embarrassed."

"why are you hiding from me then?" he can sense the frown on his lips.

minghao turns to face soonyoung and avoids meeting his eyes. being in his arms is already a lot to handle.

"hao..."

"mm?"

"that boy last night, the tall fellow. we've seen him before right? i could have sworn-" 

minghao gets up from the bed and stumbles a bit. almost too obvious.

"the guy with the bat?" minghao sits next to his suitcase and hurriedly looks through the mess of clothes. 

soonyoung sits up and watches him with a look of confusion.

"yea..? why are you being weird?"

minghao spots the big bear costume next to the bed and cracks a smile.

"i'm not being weird."

soonyoung's next remark is interrupted by the ring of his phone. some pop song from a few years ago and minghao cant place his finger on it. 

soonyoung drops the conversation and reaches pathetically for his phone on the bedside table while trying to stay wrapped up in minghao's blanket at the same time.

"yes?"

minghao picks his outfit for the day out of his suitcase. a pale yellow sweater and jeans. he walks out his bedroom door into the quiet house. jeonghan must be at work and chan must be still asleep. 

he creeps into the bathroom to change when he runs into a sleepy chan leaving the bathroom.

"channie?"

the tired boy looks up and smiles.

"where were you last night?"

"i'm sorry i didn't go trick-or-treating with you chan... i feel horrible... i know it's you're favorite night of the year." 

the youngest wraps his arms around the taller in a sluggish hug. 

"im not mad."

minghao can't help but smile and hug his best friend back. of course chan would forgive him. he's chan.

"so why are you changing in the bathroom and not in your room?" chan pulls away and smirks. 

"chan-"

"hao-ah!" soonyoung runs over to the pair carrying his large bear costume and sporting minghao's baggy sweatpants.

"oh, that's why." chan mumbles under his breathe and minghao shoves him.

"hi chan! um, hao i have to get going i forgot i have work at 3. it was so nice sleeping here last night with you. we should do it again, yea?" soonyoung presses a quick kiss to the taller's cheek and hurriedly pulls his shoes on. 

"come back again!" chan waves to him and soonyoung smiles. 

minghao's feeling floaty.

"so you brought him to our house last night." 

"i wanted him to stay... is that bad?"

"did you guys bang? because i didn't hear a thing last night."

"chAn! we aren't you and jeonghan please—"

"so, that's a no?"

"yes. that is a definite no."

"...did he really dress up as ryan the bear?"

"let him live."

 

•••

 

"hey so uh... i was just wondering when you planned on coming back to work...?" the dark haired boy tugs a hand through his hair and waits for a reply from his M.I.A coworker.

"wonwoo i'm sorry, things have been so crazy because of the break in. i'm staying with my friend in busan. i don't know when i'm coming back."

"i mean, i get it man but i have been covering your shifts for like 2 weeks and i'm also trying to get through uni."

"wonwoo hyung... can i call you hyung?"

"i guess."

"hyung, i'm trying to get my life together as fast as i can."

wonwoo holds in another sigh and grabs his car keys to pick up yet another one of minghao's shifts. 

"do it faster." 

 

•••

 

jeonghan strolls through the back door carrying this weeks groceries for the three of them. chan trails behind him, plush in one hand and a snow cone in the other.

"baby, be careful. don't get that on your new white shirt."

"uhh"

jeonghan puts the bags on the floor and turns back to the younger only to see he already got the blue syrupy ice all over his face, hands, and white shirt. jeonghan moves to get the baby wipes out of his bag.

"i knew i should have gave it to you in moderation." he wipes the boys face as he squirms in his hold. 

"is hao-ah home?"

jeonghan pulls away and frowns, "don't think so, love." what he really means to say is "i don't care if he's home or not. why do you even hang around that guy?" but, chan does't need to hear that.

"he's never home anymore," the boys eyes start to resemble the eyes of a dog left outside in the rain. "he's always with that hamster guy..." he sniffles.

"listen baby, let's not get too worked up. how about i give you a bubble bath and get you in your warm jammies, hm?"

the boy looks an absolute mess with stained blue lips and tears and snot rolling down his face. he lets himself be pulled into the bathroom by the older though, he really can't say no to bubbles.

"c'mon love, grab your rubber duckies." jeonghan starts to undress the boy and frowns at the messy new shirt. at least it was on sale. he knew better than to buy a white shirt for full price for his messy boy.

"can you sing me a song, daddy?" jeonghan looks up from where he's leaning on the ground and smiles.

"any requests?" chan throws five rubber ducks into the bubbly warm water. 

"my heart will go on."

jeonghan can't help but laugh at the odd request from chan but then again, they did cuddle up and watch the titanic a few weeks ago. chan cried like a baby when jack died.

"i'm not sure i know all the words, but i'll try." 

the rest of the night, the two sing softly to celine dion and throw bubbles when the other isn't looking. 

 

•••

 

"are you sure we haven't met that guy at the party before?" 

minghao rolls around in his bed, biting back a frustrated groan because soonyoung just won't let this go.

"soonyoung hyung, why is this eating you up," minghao's cheeks start to redden at the thought of his hyung being jealous. but, that just can't be it. "he's just some guy..."

he hears a scoff through the phone and pouts. 

"hao-ah, he was drooling all over you! couldn't you see that puppy look on his face?"

"he does kind of have puppy eyes."

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS-"

"but yours are prettier." a choking sound is heard on minghao's end.

"are you okay?" he giggles into the phone and snuggles further into his sheets.

"y-yeah. i just choked on my spit. it's all good."

"go to sleep soonyoung hyung." 

"how can i sleep when you're talking cute to me?"

the smile on minghao's face grows and he tries to hide his face further into his mattress even though, the older isn't there to see him. 

"hao-ah? you still there? don't fall asleep on me." 

"no no no! i'm still here hyung." he desperately sits up and yells into the speaker.

"why did you go quiet? thought you fell asleep on me."

"no, never."

"you can't see me but, i have the biggest heart eyes for you. you know like how they look in the cartoons? that's me."

the younger finds it almost impossible to hold in a squeal. what if he explodes?

"soonie! stop!"

"soonie? that's... cute."

"oh sorry, it just kind of came out. is that okay?" 

"why are you apologizing? are you seriously saying sorry for giving me the cutest nick name in the world?"

the moon shines outside the window and minghao lazily gets up to rest on the edge of the window sill. 

"...didn't know if you would like it or not." minghao stares off into the dark sky, connecting all the stars in his head. 

stars. shining stars. hoshi. soonyoung.

"want you here."

"huh?"

minghao feels small looking at the stars.

"want you here. with me. right now." he pulls his teddy bear close to him. why did he put him on the floor? oh this bear reminds him of when soonyoung dressed as ryan. he misses that night. their first and only kiss.

"i want to be with you too. do you think i could sneak through your window in about... ten minutes?"

minghao's bear is held tightly to his chest. is soonyoung really that crazy?

"where are you?"

"i'm walking around the neighborhood."

"this late?"

"don't worry. i know taekwondoe."

"i'll leave my window open."

 

•••

 

minghao waited anxiously for soonyoung to appear at his window. was this a bad idea? what if soonyoung falls asleep in his bed again? chan will probably find out and make a big deal. the tall boy sighs and walks back to his bed. he should probably invest in a nightlight in the next couple days. sometimes, the moon casts scary shadows on his walls and gogo can only do so much to keep the scary thoughts away. 

a tapping sound is heard on his window and he jumps out of his thoughts. oh, it's him.

without a second thought he rushes to his window to let soonyoung in. the breeze outside is cold and soonyoung's cheeks and nose have a slight pinkness to them. 

"did i scare you?" he asks. struggling to get one leg through the window. 

"kinda." 

minghao places gogo on his bed and returns to pull soonyoung through the window. of course, there is a lot of fumbling and tripping. 

once the shorter is through the window minghao throws himself into his arms. a small sound of surprise leaves his mouth at how cold soonyoung feels. soonyoung chuckles and wraps his hands around the boy. 

"missed you, soonie," the hands on his back move up and down slowly.

"i missed you too, hao." 

minghao shivers. "you're cold." 

"can we get under the covers? warm me up?" he leans away from minghao to search his face for an answer. minghao is blushing again.

"yea... i-i'll warm you up." 

soonyoung throws his baseball cap to the floor and hurriedly wraps himself up in the thick blankets. minghao shuffles in next to him and lays his head on soonyoung's chest. 

"so..."

soonyoung peers down at him, "yea?"

minghao shouldn't bring it up. maybe he should just rest his eyes. 

"the kiss..."

soonyoung starts to sit up. oh no, what if he upset him? 

"i thought you wanted me to kiss you?"

minghao sits up, "no no no! that's not what i meant— um. i was just wondering when you were going to... um, do it again." the hand on his neck is rubbing worriedly at his skin. this is dumb. 

soonyoung breaks into a smile. not just a smile but, a soonyoung smile. cheeks and all.

"you asked me to come over so i would kiss you again, correct?" 

"well no but, i was kind of wishing you would." minghao reaches for gogo on the edge of the bed and holds him close. soonyoung laughs next to him and minghao joins him sheepishly. 

"well alright, let's do it." 

"w-what?"

"let's kiss. come here."

he scoots closer to the younger and puts his hands on both sides of his face. 

soonyoung looks in his eyes with this sort of look. his hair is all messy from the baseball cap, his cheeks and nose still slightly pink from the cold, and his eyes look almost glossy. maybe, sparkly.

minghao bites his lip and turns his body towards him. he kind of wants to put his hands through his hair but he's not sure if he should. would that be too much? instead, he keeps holding gogo close to him. 

soonyoung leans in and minghao closes his eyes. he can feel soft lips at the corner of his mouth. he lets out a breath. he can feel a smile forming on soonyoung's lips. this is nice. 

soonyoung moves to kiss minghao on his cheek, followed by a kiss on his forehead and nose. soonyoung's lips feel so warm in contrast with his cold hands. two temperatures at once start to feel like a lot but, minghao wants him to keep going. no one has ever kissed him so gently. 

soonyoung hovers over his jaw and presses a kiss where his jaw and neck meet. minghao starts to feel fuzzy all over. maybe a bit warm too. soonyoung presses kisses along his neck and minghao let's out a soft keening sound. 

"s-sorry." minghao laughs nervously. oh god, soonyoung probably thinks he's the biggest virgin alive. cool.

soonyoung mouths at the front of minghao's throat and mumbles a "it's okay." minghao's hands start to wrap around soonyoung's neck and his fingers card their way through the thick, black strands. he initially wanted just a kiss but, this is good.

the younger leans back to give the older better access  to his neck. he can hear soonyoung's heavy breaths and tests the waters by pulling a strand of his hair. 

shit. shit. shit.

soonyoung makes this moaning sound and it vibrates against minghao's neck. that sounded way too good. maybe he should try it again. 

another pull to the older's hair and soonyoung pulls away. soonyoung's cheeks are pinker, his lips red, his hair sticking up in opposite directions, his eyes hooded. small breathes fan minghao's face. this a lot.

"jesus christ." 

minghao lays back onto the bed.

"stop."

"what?"

"stop, looking at me like that. you're driving me nuts." 

minghao giggles, "you should see the way you're looking at me, soonie."

soonyoung groans into his hands. "jesus, minghao."

"kiss me." minghao pleads playfully. 

"i like you so much. you know that?" soonyoung rubs at his own face in frustration. 

"i-i like you too."


	17. energy drinks

"i-i like you too." 

for some reason it felt like a confession minghao has been holding in for ages. which, is totally absurd because the pair have made it clear that they both had feelings for each other. and the fact that soonyoung is his boyfriend now. they never officially came out and asked each other if they were really boyfriends but, by the way soonyoung holds him in his arms almost every night, it's pretty transparent. 

minghao opens his eyes to see him lying there next to him. his chest rises and falls slowly and his hands are still very much wrapped around the younger. even though soonyoung is smaller, he demands to be the big spoon. not that minghao is complaining.

today, he feels like staying in his arms all day. he silently wishes soonyoung stays in his deep, peaceful sleep for at least a few more hours but, telling by the way his nose scrunches and his eyes move under his eyelids, maybe his sleep isn't as peaceful as he thought. 

"soon?" minghao places a hand on his cheek and smooths his thumb back and forth hoping to soothe him from the bad dream. 

it seems to work a bit because he leans into his touch. minghao runs his fingers through soonyoung's hair and smiles. 

"it's just a dream, soonie." he whispers into the close space between their faces. 

 

 

 

"hey man. it's me again, wonwoo. i know we spoke a few days ago but i'm really struggling here and i don't know if boss plans on hiring someone to take your place because its been like a month." he sighs in to the phone and rubs at his red eyes. 

between almost a full time job at the mart and going through medical school thanks to his scholarship, he hasn't had a full hour of sleep in a month. he's been getting by on energy drinks and strong, strong coffee but he's starting to fall asleep in class and that causes him to get behind which then means he has to study even longer in the library. he's even been neglecting his only friends, seungkwan and joshua, which he still wonders why they even try sticking around considering he's always been a quiet, dull person which is on the other side of the spectrum from seungkwan. he understands joshua sticking around because he too is a more private person, but seungkwan? how the hell did they even manage to hit it off?

he always walks into his 8:30 am class every morning to find a yellow sticky note on some sort of energizing drink. usually a pun or some inside joke is on it from seungkwan, but by the looks of it, todays is from joshua and it read, "take care." in the corner of the note was his signature smiley face. without much thought, wonwoo cracked open the canned coffee and gulped it down before the professor walked in.

"hey. hey, won wake up."

"shit, how did i still manage to sleep through that?" he grumbles and picks up his books.

"don't worry, i saw you sleeping and took extra notes. here." joshua hands over his neat, five star notebook with colored tabs on each section. 

"don't you need this for the test coming up though?" wonwoo chews at the inside of his lip. he didn't want to bring his friends grades down with him. that's a shitty thing to do considering he hasn't even properly hung out with either of them in weeks.

"nah, i have a pretty good memory. plus, seungkwan wants to hit up the library tonight."

wonwoo rises from his chair and picks up his backpack, tucking away the notebook for later. "seungkwan wants to go to the library? that's a first."

joshua stands up with him and laughs, "i think it's so he can flirt with the librarian but i'll fill you in later." wonwoo nods and heads to the exit.

"you meeting us at the library tonight? if you're not busy, that is."

wonwoo looks back at joshua with a sad smile. he really misses hanging out with them.

"sorry hyung, i have another late shift tonight." he tries not to wince at the look on joshua's face. how is he ever going to make it up to them?

"don't worry won. another time?" before he can answer, joshua is already brushing passed him and headed to his next class.

 

 

 

"channie, sweetheart. please eat your food, don't play with it." 

the small blonde giggles and proceeds to mimic the sounds of a car, causing rice to fly up into the air with his spoon.

"chan! daddy said no."

the smaller frowns at the tone of his daddy's voice and whines. "daddy, don't yell at me." 

jeonghan sighs and walks over to the boy and wipes his face with the blue bib around his neck. 

"im sorry channie, but when daddy says no. it means no." the younger pulls away from the elders attempt at keeping him clean and pouts. 

"pouty boys don't get dessert. c'mon angel, i'm just trying to do what's best for you." 

"no d-dessert?"

jeonghan shakes his head, "not until you stop pouting and clean up your mess." 

"that's not fair!" 

"it is perfectly fair! look at you baby, you got rice in your hair and on the floor. that's not where food belongs, now does it?" the younger whines once more and shakes his hair out like a dog, getting the rice out of it. 

"i didn't mean like that but, that works." 

jeonghan then chuckles as he watches the little one attempt to hold a broom steadily and clean his mess. 

 

 

 

 

soonyoung pulls into the driveway of his home, smiling at minghao in a way that brightens his whole face. minghao giggles and turns back to the elder, "i like birds." soonyoung leans over his boyfriend to unbuckle him and peck his cheek, "oh yea? why's that?"

the younger shrugs, still smiling brightly. "i just do." he starts to suckle on his thumb and soonyoung pats his thigh. "come on, lets go." 

the two exit the vehicle that once attacked minghao with a seatbelt and walk into soonyoung's home. minghao suddenly remembers the first date they had, that was the first and last time he stepped foot in soonyoung's home. 

"it's so nice." he says around the thumb in his mouth. his thoughts accidentally leaving his brain and said out in the open. 

"yea? you like it?" soonyoung locks the front door behind them and wraps his arms around minghao. in a way, it's kind of funny. soonyoung can barely rest his head on minghao's shoulder but he tries anyway and minghao appreciates the effort.

"the first time i was here... i didnt look at everything close enough." soonyoung steps in front of him, "like me to show you around?" his arms gesturing to their surroundings. the younger takes his thumb out of his mouth to say a quick "yes" and pops it back in. soonyoung takes his hand and guides him through his little, cozy, suburban home. 

"...and this is the guest room. so if you ever feel like leaving jeonghan and chan's house to stay here, you can." minghao turns to him confused, "b-but wouldn't i sleep in your bed soonie?" his boyfriend's face instantly reddening. "yes, of course. what was i thinking?" 

"it is nice in here though." soonyoung closes the door  before minghao walks in for a better look and pulls him into the hallway. "my room is way nicer. you're staying with me in my room, mister." 

soonyoung's room looked the way he expected. cool toned colors and band posters made up the room. more picture frames lined his dresser of his friends and nature. "you like pictures, don't you?" soonyoung buries his face in minghao's neck and nods. "yes, i take pictures for a living. didn't i tell you?" 

"w-wait i thought-" 

soonyoung laughs his obnoxious dolphin-like laugh and hugs minghao close. "it's okay, i don't think it came up in conversation."

"it all makes sense now." 

"does it? how so?" soonyoung takes his hand and leads them back to the kitchen. swinging hands as they walk through the lit hallways, "all the photos i saw here last time, i never asked about them because i was too nervous." 

"did you think i was going to murder you or something?"

"that's what channie warned me about, actually." 

soonyoung sighs and shakes his head. "that kid." soonyoung offers to make the pair some coffee but minghao was feeling particularly little and asked for juice instead. "little things", he calls it. 

"hey, do you mind if the guys come over?" 

"t-the guys?" minghao asks, taking the straw out of his mouth.

"yea, remember my friends from the halloween party?"

minghao cringes at the memory, but one thing does ring in his head. hoshi.

"they call you hoshi." soonyoung looks up and smiles. "who told you that?" 

minghao turns back to his apple juice and gulps it down, the tips of his ears turning pink. 

maybe i should have kept that to myself.

"was it hansol?" soonyoung peers down at the younger. 

"maybe. can i have another juice, please?" 

"nuh-uh. no juice until you tell me." minghao pouts and kicks his feet in his chair.

"i'm just curious baby, i'm not going to be mad." soonyoung pets down the youngers hair and waits patiently for a response. 

"maybe... it was hansol." minghao mutters quietly. 

"a-ha! i knew he couldn't keep that mouth shut." soonyoung taps harshly on his phone, most likely sending hansol a death threat. minghao wraps his fingers around the elder's wrist to get his attention.

"soonie. juice." 

"ah, sorry baby," he quickly fetches his boyfriend another apple juice and straw and gently sets it on the table in front of him. "good boy."

minghao blushes ten times more and plunges the plastic straw through the small carton. 

"hansol isn't in trouble, right?" 

soonyoung looks up from his phone and coos at the sight of minghao's lips pouting around his juice carton straw. "no hao-ah. don't worry about him, okay baby?" minghao nods.

"so, you don't mind the boys coming over?" 

"no, soonie."

soonyoung smiles and presses a peck to the younger's cheek. 


End file.
